Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Process-sedimentological challenges in distinguishing paleo-tsunami deposits

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Natural Hazards Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

There has been a lively debate since the 1980s on distinguishing between paleo-tsunami deposits and paleo-cyclone deposits using sedimentological criteria. Tsunami waves not only cause erosion and deposition during inundation of coastlines in subaerial environments, but also trigger backwash flows in submarine environments. These incoming waves and outgoing flows emplace sediment in a wide range of environments, which include coastal lake, beach, marsh, lagoon, bay, open shelf, slope and basin. Holocene deposits of tsunami-related processes from these environments exhibit a multitude of physical, biological and geochemical features. These features include basal erosional surfaces, anomalously coarse sand layers, imbricated boulders, chaotic bedding, rip-up mud clasts, normal grading, inverse grading, landward-fining trend, horizontal planar laminae, cross-stratification, hummocky cross-stratification, massive sand rich in marine fossils, sand with high K, Mg and Na elemental concentrations and sand injections. These sedimentological features imply extreme variability in processes that include erosion, bed load (traction), lower flow regime currents, upper-flow regime currents, oscillatory flows, combined flows, bidirectional currents, mass emplacement, freezing en masse, settling from suspension and sand injection. The notion that a ‘tsunami’ event represents a single (unique) depositional process is a myth. Although many sedimentary features are considered to be reliable criteria for recognizing potential paleo-tsunami deposits, similar features are also common in cyclone-induced deposits. At present, paleo-tsunami deposits cannot be distinguished from paleo-cyclone deposits using sedimentological features alone, without historical information. The future success of distinguishing paleo-tsunami deposits depends on the development of criteria based on systematic synthesis of copious modern examples worldwide and on the precise application of basic principles of process sedimentology.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ager DV (1974) Storm deposits in the Jurassic of the Moroccan High Atlas. Paleogeogr Paleocl Paleoecol 15:83–93

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alfaro P, Delgado J, Estévez A, Molina JM, Moretti M, Soria JM (2002) Liquefaction and fluidization structures in Messinian storm deposits (Bajo Segura Basin, Betic Cordillera, southern Spain). Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 91:505–513

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allen JRL (1984) Sedimentary structures, their character and physical basis, unabridged one-volume. Elsevier, Amsterdam

    Google Scholar 

  • Allison MA, Sheremet A, Goni MA, Stone GW (2005) Storm layer deposition on the Mississippi–Atchafalaya subaqueous delta generated by Hurricane Lili in 2002. Cont Shelf Res 25:2213–2232

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Atwater BF (1987) Evidence of great Holocene earthquakes along the outer coast of Washington state. Science 236:942–944

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bagnold RA (1954) Experiments on a gravity free dispersion of large solid spheres in a Newtonian fluid under shear. R Soc Lond Proc (A) 225:49–63

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bahlburg H, Weiss R (2007) Sedimentology of the December 26, 2004, Sumatra tsunami deposits in eastern India (Tamil Nadu) and Kenya. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 96:1195–1209

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ballance PF, Gregory MR, Gibson GW (1981) Coconuts in Miocene turbidites in New Zealand; possible evidence for tsunami origin of some turbidity currents. Geology 9:592–595

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bates RL, Jackson JA (1980) Glossary of geology, 2nd edn. American Geological Institute, Falls Church, Virginia

    Google Scholar 

  • Berggren WA, Hollister CD (1977) Plate tectonics and paleocirculation—commotion in the ocean. Tectonophysics 38:11–48

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bondevik S, Svendsen J-I, Mangerud J (1997) Tsunami sedimentary facies deposited by the Storegga tsunami in shallow marine basins and coastal lakes, western Norway. Sedimentology 44:1115–1131

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bouma AH (1962) Sedimentology of some flysch deposits: a graphic approach to facies interpretation. Elsevier, Amsterdam

    Google Scholar 

  • Bourgeois J (2009) Chapter 3. Geologic effects and records of tsunamis. In: Robinson AR, Bernard EN (eds) Tsunamis. The sea, vol 15. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, pp 53–91

    Google Scholar 

  • Bourgeois J, Weiss R (2009) “Chevrons” are not mega-tsunami deposits—a sedimentologic assessment. Geology 37:403–406

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bourgeois J, Hansen TA, Wiberg PL, Kauffman EG (1988) A tsunami deposit at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in Texas. Science 241:567–570

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Breien H, De Blasio FV, Elverhøi A, Nystuen JP, Harbitz CB (2010) Transport mechanisms of sand in deep-marine environments—insights based on laboratory experiments. J Sediment Res 80:975–990

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bridge J (2008) Discussion of articles in “sedimentary features of tsunami deposits”. Sediment Geol 211:94

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brush LM Jr (1965) Experimental work on primary sedimentary structures. In: Middleton GV (ed) Primary sedimentary structures and their hydrodynamic interpretation, vol 12. SEPM Special Pub, Tulsa, pp 17–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Bryant E (2001) Tsunami: the underrated hazard. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Bryant E (2008) Tsunami: the underrated hazard, 2nd edn. Springer Praxis Publishing, Chicchester

    Google Scholar 

  • Bryant EA, Nott J (2001) Geological indicators of large tsunami in Australia. Nat Hazard 24:231–249

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bryant EA, Young RW (1996) Bedrock-sculpting by tsunami, south coast New South Wales. J Geol 104:565–582

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bryant EA, Young RW, Price DM (1992) Evidence of tsunami sedimentation on the southeastern coast of Australia. J Geol 100:753–765

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bryant EA, Young RW, Price DM (1996) Tsunami as a major control on coastal evolution, southeastern Australia. J Coast Res 12:831–840

    Google Scholar 

  • Bryant EA, Young RW, Price DM, Pease MI, Wheeler DJ (1997) The impact of tsunami on the coastline of Jervis Bay, southeastern Australia. Phys Geogr 18:441–460

    Google Scholar 

  • Cantalamessa G, Di Celma C (2005) Sedimentary features of tsunami backwash deposits in a shallow marine Miocene setting, Mejillones Peninsula, northern Chile. Sediment Geol 178:259–273

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carey S, Morelli D, Sigurdsson H, Bronto S (2001) Tsunami deposits from major explosive eruptions: an example from the 1883 eruption of Krakatau. Geology 29:347–350

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Choowong M, Murakoshi N, Hisada K et al (2008) 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami inflow and outflow at Phuket, Thailand. Mar Geol 248:179–192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shiki T, Chough, SK, Einsele G (eds) Special Issue (1996) Marine sedimentary events and their records. Sediment Geol 104:1–257

    Google Scholar 

  • Cita MB, Aloisi G (2000) Deep-sea tsunami deposits triggered by the explosion of Santorini (3500 y BP), eastern Mediterranean. Sediment Geol 135:181–203

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clifton HE (ed) (1988) Sedimentologic consequences of convulsive geologic events. Geol Soc Am special Paper 229

  • Coleman PJ (1968) Tsunamis as geological agents. Geol Soc Aust 15:267–273

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Costa P (2004) Detecting storm and tsunami deposits in coastal lagoons. Preliminary results from Lagoa de Óbidos (W Portugal). In: “Rapid and catastrophic environmental changes in the Holocene and human response”: first joint meeting of IGCP 490 and ICSU Environmental catastrophes in Mauritania, the desert and the coast. Abstract: http://atlas-conferences.com/c/a/m/u/09.htm. Accessed 9 January 2011

  • Davies TRH, Smart CC, Turnbull JM (2003) Water and sediment outbursts from advanced Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand. Earth Surf Process Landf 28:1081–1096

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dawson AG (1994) Geomorphological effects of tsunami run-up and backwash. Geomorphology 10:83–94

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dawson AG, Shi S (2000) Tsunami deposits. Pure Appl Geophys 157:875–897

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dawson AG, Stewart I (2007) Tsunami deposits in the geological record. Sediment Geol 200:166–183

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dawson AG, Stewart I, Morton RA, Richmond BM, Jaffe BE, Gelfenbaum G (2008) Reply to comments by Kelletat (2008) comments to Dawson AG, Stewart I (2007) tsunami deposits in the geological record [Sediment Geol 200:166–183]. Sediment Geol 211:92–93

  • de Lange WP, Moon VG (2007) Tsunami washover deposits, Tawharanui, New Zealand. Sediment Geol 200:232–247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Rossetti DF, Góes AM, Truckenbrodt W, Anaisse J Jr (2000) Tsunami-induced large-scale scour-and-fill structures in Late Albian to Cenomanian deposits of the Grajaú Basin, northern Brazil. Sedimentology 47:309–323

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donato SV, Reinhardt EG, Boyce JI, Rothaus R, Vosmer T (2008) Identifying tsunami deposits using bivalve shell taphonomy. Geology 36:199–202

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duke WLR, Arnott RWC, Cheel RJ (1991) shelf sandstones and hummocky-cross stratification: new insights on a stormy debate. Geology 19:625–628

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Enos P (1977) Flow regimes in debris flow. Sedimentology 24:133–142

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Etienne S, Paris R (2010) Boulder accumulations related to storms on the south coast of the Reykjanes Peninsula (Iceland). Geomorphology 114:55–70

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Felton EA, Crook KAW (2003) Evaluating the impacts of huge waves on rocky shorelines: an essay review of the book ‘Tsunami—the underrated hazard’. Mar Geol 197:1–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feng Z-D, Johnson WC (1995) Factors affecting the magnetic susceptibility of a loess-soil sequence, Barton County, Kansas, USA. CATENA 24:25–37. doi:10.1016/0341-8162(94)00031-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher RV (1971) Features of coarse-grained, high-concentration fluids and their deposits. J Sediment Petrol 41:916–927

    Google Scholar 

  • Fisher RV (1983) Flow transformations in sediment gravity flows. Geology 11:273–274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Floquet M, Hennuy J (2003) Evolutionary gravity flow deposits in the Middle Turonian—early Coniacian Southern Provence Basin (SE France): origins and depositional processes. In: Locat J, Mienert J (eds) Submarine mass movements and their consequences. Kluwer Academic Publishers Bookseries, Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research, vol 19, pp 417–424

  • Folk RL (1968) Petrology of sedimentary rocks. Hemphill’s, Austin, Texas

    Google Scholar 

  • Font E, Nascimento C, Omira R, Baptista MA, Silva PF (2010) Identification of tsunami-induced deposits using numerical modeling and rock magnetism techniques: a study case of the 1755 Lisbon tsunami in Algarve, Portugal. Phys Earth Planet Inter 182:187–198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foster IDL, Albon AJ, Bardell KM, Fletcher JL, Jardine TC (1991) High energy coastal sedimentary deposits; an evaluation of depositional processes in Southwest England. Earth Sur Proc Land 16:341–356

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frohlich C, Hornbach MJ, Taylor FW, Shen C-C, Moala A, Morton AE, Kruger J (2009) Huge erratic boulders in Tonga deposited by a prehistoric tsunami. Geology 37:131–134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fujino S, Masuda F, Tagomori S, Matsumoto D (2006) Structure and depositional processes of a gravelly tsunami deposit in a shallow marine setting: Lower Cretaceous Miyako Group, Japan. Sediment Geol 187:127–138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fujiwara O (2007) Major contributions of tsunami deposit studies to quaternary research. Quat Res 46:293–302

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fujiwara O, Kamataki T (2007) Identification of tsunami deposits considering the tsunami waveform: an example of subaqueous tsunami deposits in Holocene shallow bay on southern Boso Peninsula, Central Japan. Sediment Geol 200:295–313

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fujiwara O, Masuda F, Sakai T, Irizuki T, Fuse K (2000) Tsunami deposits in Holocene bay mud in southern Kanto region, Pacific coast of central Japan. Sediment Geol 135:219–230

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gagan MK, Chivas AR, Herczeg AL (1990) Shelf-wide erosion, deposition, and suspended sediment transport during Cyclone Winifred, central Great Barrier Reef, Australia. J Sediment Petrol 60:456–470

    Google Scholar 

  • Geist EL (2005) Local Tsunami Hazards in the Pacific Northwest from Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquakes. US Geol Surv Prof Paper 1661-B

  • Jaffe B, Gelfenbaum, G, Rubin D et al. (2003) Tsunami deposits: identification and interpretation of tsunami deposits from the June 23, 2001 Peru tsunami: proceedings of the international conference on coastal sediments 2003, CD-ROM Published by World Scientific Publishing Corp and East Meets West Productions, Corpus Christi, TX, USA. ISBN 981-238-422-7, 13 p

  • Gelfenbaum G, Jaffe B (2003) Erosion and sedimentation from the 17 July 1998 Papua New Guinea tsunami. Pure Appl Geophys 160:1969–1999

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goff J, McFadgen BG, Chagué-Goff C (2004) Sedimentary differences between the 2002 Easter storm and the 15th-century Okoropunga tsunami, southeastern North Island, New Zealand. Mar Geol 204:235–250

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goff J, Weiss R, Courtney C, Dominey-Howes D (2010) Testing the hypothesis for tsunami boulder deposition from suspension. Marine Geol 277:73–77

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodman-Tchernov BN, Dey HW, Reinhardt EG, McCoy F, Mart Y (2009) Tsunami waves generated by the Santorini eruption reached Eastern Mediterranean shores. Geology 37:943–946

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goto K, Okada K, Imamura F (2009) Characteristics and hydrodynamics of boulders transported by storm waves at Kudaka Island, Japan. Mar Geol 262:14–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goto K, Miyagi K, Kawana T, Takahashi J, Imamura F (2011) Emplacement and movement of boulders by known storm waves—field evidence from the Okinawa Islands, Japan. Mar Geol (in press)

  • Hampton MA (1972) The role of subaqueous debris flows in generating turbidity currents. J Sediment Petrol 42:775–793

    Google Scholar 

  • Hampton MA (1975) Competence of fine-grained debris flows. J Sediment Petrol 45:834–844

    Google Scholar 

  • Harms JC, Southard JB, Spearing DR, Walker RG (1975) Depositional environments as interpreted from primary sedimentary structures and stratification sequences: Dallas, Texas. SEPM Short Course No. 2

  • Harms JC, Southard JB, Walker RG (1982) Structures and sequences in clastic rocks: Calgary, Canada. SEPM Short Course No. 9

  • Hartley A, Howell J, Mather AE, Chong G (2001) A possible Plio-Pleistocene tsunami deposit, Hornitos, northern Chile. Revista Geol de Chile 28:117–125

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawkes AD, Bird M, Cowie S et al (2007) Sediments deposited by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami along the Malaysia–Thailand Peninsula. Mar Geol 242:169–190

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Higgs R (2010) ‘Hummocky cross-stratification-like structures in deep-sea turbidites: Upper Cretaceous Basque basins (Western Pyrenees, France)’ by Mulder et al. (2009) Sedimentology 56:997–1015: Discussion. Sedimentology. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3091.2010.01163.x

  • Hobday DK, Morton RA (1984) Lower Cretaceous storm shelf deposits, northeast Texas. In: Tillman RW, Siemers CT (eds) Siliciclastic shelf sediments, vol 34. SEPM Special Publications, Tulsa, pp 205–213

    Google Scholar 

  • Howe JA, Stoker MS, Woolfe KJ (2001) Deep-marine seabed erosion and gravel lags in the Northwestern Rockall Trough, North Atlantic Ocean. J Geol Soc Lond 158:427–438

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hsü KJ (1964) Cross-laminated sequence in graded bed sequence. J Sed Pet 34:379–388

    Google Scholar 

  • Hsü KJ (1989) Physical principles of sedimentology. Springer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Jaffe BE, Morton RA, Kortekaas S, Dawson AG, Smith DE, Gelfenbaum G, Foster IDL, Long D, Shi S (2008) Reply to bridge (2008) Discussion of articles in “sedimentary features of tsunami deposits”. Sediment Geol 211:95–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jayakumar R, Siraz L (1997) Factor analysis in hydrogeochemistry of coastal aquifers—a preliminary study. Environ Geol 31:174–177

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keller G, Adatte T, Berner Z et al (2007) Chicxulub impact predates K–T boundary: new evidence from Brazos, Texas. Earth Planet Sci Lett 255:339–356

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelletat D (2008) Comments to Dawson AG, Stewart I (2007) Tsunami deposits in the geological record. Sediment Geol 200:166–183. Sediment Geol 211:87–91

    Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy DM, Tannock KL, Crozier MJ, Rieser U (2007) Boulders of MIS 5 age deposited by a tsunami on the coast of Otago, New Zealand. Sediment Geol 200:222–231

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kindler P, Strasser A (2000) Palaeoclimatic significance of co-occurring wind- and waterinduced sedimentary structures in the last-interglacial coastal deposits from Bermuda and the Bahamas. Sediment Geol 131:1–7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klein GD (1971) A sedimentary model for determining paleotidal range. Geol Soc Am Bull 82:2585–2592

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kortekaas S, Dawson AG (2007) Distinguishing tsunami and storm deposits: an example from Martinhal, SW Portugal. Sediment Geol 200:208–221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Labaume P, Mutti E, Seguret M (1987) Megaturbidites: a depositional model from the Eocene of the SW-Pyrenean foreland basin, Spain. Geo Marine Lett 7:91–101

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Le Roux JP, Vargas G (2005) Hydraulic behavior of tsunami backflows: insights from their modern and ancient deposits. Environ Geol 49:65–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Le Roux JP, Vargas G (2007) Structure and depositional processes of a gravelly tsunami deposit in a shallow marine setting: lower cretaceous miyako Group, Japan—discussion. Sediment Geol 201:485–487

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Le Roux JP, Gómez C, Fenner J, Middleton H (2004) Sedimentological processes in a scarp-controlled rocky shoreline to upper continental slope environment, as revealed by unusual sedimentary features in the Neogene Coquimbo Formation, north-central Chile. Sediment Geol 165:67–92

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Le Roux JP, Nielsen SN, Kemnitz H, Henriquez A (2008) A Pliocene mega-tsunami deposit and associated features in the Ranquil Formation, southern Chile. Sediment Geol 203:164–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leclair S, Arnott RWC (2005) Parallel lamination formed by high-density turbidity currents. J Sediment Res 75:1–5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levi T, Weinberger R, Aifa T, Eyal Y, Marco S (2006) Earth-quake induced clastic dikes detected by anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility. Geology 34:69–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lockridge PA, Whiteside LS, Lander JF (2002) Tsunamis and tsunami-like waves of the eastern United States. Sci Tsunami Hazard 20:120–157

    Google Scholar 

  • Lowe DR (1982) Sediment gravity flows: II. Depositional models with special reference to the deposits of high-density turbidity currents. J Sediment Petrol 52:279–297

    Google Scholar 

  • Major JJ (1998) Pebble orientation on large, experimental debris-flow deposits. Sediment Geol 117:151–164

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mamo B, Strotz L, Dominey-Howes D (2009) Tsunami sediments and their foraminiferal assemblages. Earth Sci Rev 96:263–278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marshall NF (1978) Large storm-induced sediment slump reopens an unknown Scripps submarine canyon tributary. In: Stanley DJ, Kelling G (eds) Sedimentation in submarine canyons, fans, and trenches. Hutchinson and Ross, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, pp 73–84

    Google Scholar 

  • Massari F, D’Alessandro A, Davaud E (2009) A coquinoid tsunamite from the Pliocene of Salento (SE Italy). Sediment Geol 221:7–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matsumoto D, Naruse H, Fujino S, Urphawajruksakul A, Jarupongsakul T, Sakakura N, Murayama M (2008) Truncated flame structures within a deposit of the Indian Ocean tsunami: evidence of syn-sedimentary deformation. Sedimentology 55:1559–1570

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Michalik J (1997) Tsunamites in a storm-dominated Anisian carbonate ramp (Vysoká Formation, Malé Karpaty Mts, western Carpathians). Geol Carpathica 48:221–229

    Google Scholar 

  • Middleton GV (1970) Experimental studies related to the problem of flysch sedimentation. Geol As Can Spec Paper 7:253–272

    Google Scholar 

  • Middleton GV, Hampton MA (1973) Sediment gravity flows: Mechanics of flow and deposition. In: Middleton GV, Bouma AH (eds) Turbidites and deep-water sedimentation. Pacific section SEPM, Los Angeles, California, pp 1–38

    Google Scholar 

  • Minoura K, Gusiakov VG, Kurbatov A, Takeuti S, Svendsen JI, Bondevik S, Oda T (1996) Tsunami sedimentation associated with the 1923 Kamchatka earthquake. Sediment Geol 106:145–154

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Minoura K, Imamura F, Sugawara D, Kono Y, Iwashita T (2001) The 869 Jõgan tsunami deposit and recurrence interval of large-scale tsunami on the Pacific coast of northeast Japan. J Nat Dis Sci 23:83–88

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore GW, Moore JG (1988) Large-scale bedforms in boulder gravel produced by giant waves in Hawaii. In: Clifton HE (ed) Sedimentologic consequences of convulsive geologic events. Geol Soc Am Spec Pap 229:101–110

  • Moore A, Nishimura Y, Gelfenbaum G, Kamataki T, Triyono R (2006) Sedimentary deposits of the 26 December 2004 tsunami on the northwest, coast of Aceh, Indonesia. Earth Planets Space 58:253–258

    Google Scholar 

  • Morton RA, Richmond BM, Jaffe BE, Gelfenbaum G (2006) Reconnaissance investigation of Caribbean extreme wave deposits—preliminary observations, interpretations, and research directions. USGS Open-File Report 2006-1293

  • Morton RA, Gelfenbaum G, Jaffe BE (2007) Physical criteria for distinguishing sandy tsunami and storm deposits using modern examples. Sediment Geol 200:184–207

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morton RA, Goff JR, Nichol SL (2008) Hydrodynamic implications of textural trends in sand deposits of the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka. Sediment Geol 207:56–64

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mulder T, Zaragosi S, Razin P, Grelaud C, Lanfumey V, Bavoil F (2009a) A new conceptual model for the deposition process of homogenite: Application to a cretaceous megaturbidite of the western Pyrenees (Basque region, SW France). Sediment Geol 222:263–273

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mulder T, Razin P, Faugeres J-C (2009b) Hummocky cross-stratification-like structures in deep-sea turbidites: upper cretaceous basque basins (Western Pyrenees, France). Sedimentology 56:997–1015

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mulder T, Philippe R, Faugères J-C Gérard J (2010) Reply to the discussion by Roger Higgs on ‘Hummocky crossstratification-like structures in deep-sea turbidites: upper cretaceous basque basins (Western Pyrenees, France)’ by Mulder et al., Sedimentology 56:997–1015. Sedimentology. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3091.2010.01162

  • Murty TS (1982) Comment on ‘Coconuts in Miocene turbidites in New Zealand: possible evidence for tsunami origin of some turbidity currents’. Geology 10:489

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nanayama F, Shigeno K (2006) Inflow and outflow facies from the 1993 tsunami in southwest Hokkaido. Sediment Geol 187:139–158

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nemec W (1990) Aspects of sediment movement on steep delta slopes. In: Colella A, Prior DB (eds) Coarse-grained deltas. International Association of Sedimentologists, Special Publication vol 10, pp 29–73

  • NGDC (National Geophysical Data Center) (2009) Tsunami data and information. http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazard/tsu.shtml. Accessed 9 January 2011

  • NHC (National Hurricane Center) (2009) Tropical cyclone. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/. Accessed 9 January 2011

  • Nichol SL, Kench PS (2008) Sedimentology and preservation potential of carbonate sand sheets deposited by the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami: South Baa Atoll, Maldives. Sedimentology 55:1173–1187

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nichol SL, Lian OB, Carter CH (2003) Sheet-gravel evidence for a late Holocene tsunami run-up on beach dunes, Great Barrier Island, New Zealand. Sediment Geol 155:129–145

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nott J (2003) Tsunami or storm waves?—determining the origin of a spectacular field of wave emplaced boulders using numerical storm surge and wave models and hydrodynamic transport equations. J Coast Res 19:348–356

    Google Scholar 

  • Nott J (2004) The tsunami hypothesis—comparisons of the field evidence against the effects, on the western Australian coast, of some of the most powerful storms on Earth. Mar Geol 208:1–12. doi:10.1016/j.margeo.2004.04.023

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Opreanu G (2003–2004) Porosity density and other physical properties of deep-sea sediments from the Black Sea. GEO-ECO-MARINA 9-10/2003-2004

  • Paris R, Fournier J, Poizot E, Eienne S, Morin J, Lavigne F, Wassimer P (2010) Boulder and fine sediment transport and deposition by the 2004 tsunami in Lhok Nga (western Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia): A coupled offshore—onshore model. Mar Geol 268:43–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parsons JD, Whipple KX, Simoni A (2001) Experimental study of the grain-flow, fluid-mud transition in debris flows. J Geol 109:427–447

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paull CK, Ussler W III, Greene HG, Keaten R, Mitts P, Barry J (2003) Caught in the act: the 20 December 2001 gravity flow event in Monterey Canyon. Geogr Marine Lett 22:227–232

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peters R, Jaffe J, Gelfenbaum G (2007) Distribution and sedimentary characteristics of tsunami deposits along the Cascadia margin of western North America. Sediment Geol 200:372–386

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Postma G, Nemec W, Kleinspehn KL (1988) Large floating clasts in turbidites: a mechanism for their emplacement. Sediment Geol 58:47–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pratt BR, Bordonaro OL (2007) Tsunamis in a stormy sea: Middle Cambrian inner-shelf limestones of Western Argentina. J Sediment Res 77:256–262

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prave AR, Duke WL (1990) Small-scale hummocky cross-stratification in turbidites; a form of antidune stratification. Sedimentology 37:531–539

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Puig P, Ogston AS, Mullenbach BL, Nittrouer CA, Parsons JD, Sternberg RW (2004) Storm-induced sediment gravity flows at the head of the Eel submarine canyon, northern California margin. J Geophys Res 109:C03019. doi:10.1029/2003JC001918

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rabonovich AB, Monserrat S (1996) Meteorological tsunamis near the Balearic and Kuril Islands: descriptive and statistical analysis. Nat Hazard 13:55–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reading HG (2001) Clastic facies models, a personal perspective. Bull Geol Soc Denmark 48:101–115

    Google Scholar 

  • Richmond BM, Watt S, Buckley M, Jaffe BE, Gelfenbaum G, Morton RA (2011) Recent storm and tsunami coarse-clast deposit characteristics, southeast Hawaii. Mar Geol (in press)

  • Rubin KH, Fletcher CH III, Sherman C (2000) Fossiliferous Lanai events formed by multiple events rather than single giant tsunami. Nature 408:675–681

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saintilan N, Rogers K (2005) Recent storm boulder deposits on the Beecroft Peninsula, New South Wales, Australia. Geogr Res 43:429–432

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saito Y (1989) Modern storm deposits in the inner shelf and their recurrence intervals, Sendai Bay, northeast Japan. In: Taira A, Masuda F (eds) Sedimentary facies in the active plate margin. Terra Scientific Publishing Company (TERRAPUB), Tokyo, Japan, pp 331–344

    Google Scholar 

  • Salem EM (2009) Paleo-TSUNAMI deposits on the Red Sea beach, Egypt. Arabian J Geosci 2:185–197

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanders JE (1963) Concepts of fluid mechanics provided by primary sedimentary structures. J Sediment Petrol 33:173–179

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanders JE (1965) Primary sedimentary structures formed by turbidity currents and related resedimentation mechanisms. In: Middleton GV (ed) Primary sedimentary structures and their hydrodynamic interpretation, vol 12. SEPM Spec Pub, Tulsa, pp 192–219

    Google Scholar 

  • Sawai Y, Jankaew K, Martin ME, Prendergast A, Choowong M, Charoentitirat T (2009) Diatom assemblages in tsunami deposits associated with the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami at Phra Thong Island, Thailand. Mar Micropal 73:70–79

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheffers A, Kelletat D (2003) Sedimentologic and geomorphologic tsunami imprints worldwide—a review. Earth Sci Rev 63:83–92

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schnyder J, Baudin F, Deconinck J-F (2005) A possible tsunami deposit around the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary in the Boulonnais area (northern France). Sediment Geol 177:209–227

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shanmugam G (1988) Origin, recognition and importance of erosional unconformities in sedimentary basins. In: Kleinspehn KL, Paola C (eds) New perspectives in basin analysis. Springer, New York, pp 83–108

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Shanmugam G (1996) High-density turbidity currents: are they sandy debris flows? J Sediment Res 66:2–10

    Google Scholar 

  • Shanmugam G (1997) The Bouma Sequence and the turbidite mind set. Earth Sci Rev 42:201–229

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shanmugam G (2000) 50 years of the turbidite paradigm (1950s–1990s): deep-water processes and facies models—a critical perspective. Mar Petrol Geol 17:285–342

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shanmugam G (2002a) Discussion on Mulder et al. 2001, Geo Marine Lett 21:86–93. Inversely graded turbidite sequences in the deep Mediterranean. A record of deposits from flood-generated turbidity currents? Geogr Marine Lett 22:108–111

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shanmugam G (2002b) Ten turbidite myths. Earth Sci Rev 58:313–343

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shanmugam G (2003) Deep-marine tidal bottom currents and their reworked sands in modern and ancient submarine canyons. Mar Petrol Geol 20:471–491

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shanmugam G (2006a) Deep-water processes and facies models: implications for sandstone petroleum reservoirs. Elsevier, Amsterdam

    Google Scholar 

  • Shanmugam G (2006b) The tsunamite problem. J Sediment Res 76:718–730

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shanmugam G (2007) The obsolescence of deep-water sequence stratigraphy in petroleum geology. Indian J Petrol Geol 16:1–45

    Google Scholar 

  • Shanmugam G (2008a) The constructive functions of tropical cyclones and tsunamis on deep-water sand deposition during sea level highstand: implications for petroleum exploration. AAPG Bull 92:443–471

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shanmugam G (2008b) Deep-water bottom currents and their deposits. In: Rebesco M, Camerlenghi A (eds) Contourites. Developments in Sedimentology, vol 60. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 59–81

    Google Scholar 

  • Shanmugam G (2009) Comment on “late holocene rupture of the Northern San Andreas fault and possible stress linkage to the Cascadia subduction zone”. Bull Seis Soc Am 99-4:2594–2598

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shanmugam G (2010) Sandy-mass-transport deposits (SMTD) in deep-water environments: recognition, geometry, and reservoir quality. AAPG annual convention, New Orleans. http://www.searchanddiscovery.net/documents/2010/50291shanmugam/ndx_shanmugam.pdf. Accessed 9 January 2011

  • Shanmugam G, Moiola RJ, Sales JK (1988) Duplex-like structures in submarine fan channels, Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas. Geology 16:229–232

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shanmugam G, Poffenberger M, Toro Alava J (2000) Tide-dominated estuarine facies in the Hollin and Napo (‘T’ and ‘U’) formations (Cretaceous), Sacha field, Oriente basin, Ecuador. AAPG Bull 84:652–682

    Google Scholar 

  • Shanmugam G, Shrivastava SK, Das B (2009) Sandy debrites and tidalites of Pliocene reservoir sands in upper-slope canyon environments, Offshore Krishna-Godavari Basin (India): implications. J Sediment Res 79:736–756

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shepard FP, Dill RF (1966) Submarine canyons and other sea valleys. Rand McNally & Co., Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Shiki T, Yamazaki T (1996) Tsunami-induced conglomerates in Miocene upper bathyal deposits, Chita Peninsula, central Japan. Sediment Geol 104:175–188

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shiki T, Tsuji Y, Minoura K, Yamazaki T (eds) (2008) Tsunamiites—features and implications. Elsevier, Amsterdam

    Google Scholar 

  • Siringan FP, Anderson AB (1994) Modern shoreface and inner-shelf storm deposits off the East Texas Coast, Gulf of Mexico. J Sediment Res 64:99–110

    Google Scholar 

  • Smoot JP, Litwin RJ, Bischoff JL, Lund SJ (2000) Sedimentary record of the 1872 earthquake and “Tsunami” at Owens Lake, southeast California. Sediment Geol 135:241–254

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spiske M, Jaffe BE (2009) Sedimentology and hydrodynamic implications of a coarse-grained hurricane sequence in a carbonate reef setting. Geology 37:839–842

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Srinivasalu S, Rajeshwara Rao N, Thangadurai N, Jonathan MP, Roy PD, Ram Mohan V, Saravanan P (2009a) Characteristics of 2004 tsunami deposits of the northern Tamil Nadu coast, southeastern India. Bolet Soc Geol Mexica 61:111–118

    Google Scholar 

  • Srinivasalu S, Jonathan MP, Thangadurai N, Ram Mohan V (2009b) A study on pre- and post-tsunami shallow deposits off SE coast of India from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami: a geochemical approach. Nat Hazard. doi:10.1007/s11069-009-9385-0

  • Sugawara D, Minoura K, Imamura F, Takahashi T, Shuto N (2005) A huge sand dome formed by the 1854 Earthquake tsunami in Suruga Bay, central Japan. ISET J Earthquake Tech Paper No. 462, 42, 4, December 2005, pp. 147–158

  • Switzer A, Srinivasalu S, Thangadurai N, Ram Mohan V (2007) Bedding structures in Indian tsunami deposits provide clues to the dynamics of tsunami inundation. XVII INQUA Congress 2007, http://www.icms.com.au/inqua2007/abstract/247.htm. Accessed 9 January 2011

  • Takashimizu Y, Masuda F (2000) Depositional facies and sedimentary successions of earthquake-induced tsunami deposits of Upper Pleistocene incised valley fills, central Japan. Sediment Geol 135:231–239

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takayama H, Tada R, Matsui T et al (2000) Origin of the Peñalver formation in northwestern Cuba and its relation to K/T boundary impact event. Sediment Geol 135:295–320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tappin DR (ed) Special Issue (2007) Sedimentary features of tsunami deposits—their origin, recognition and discrimination: an introduction. Sediment Geol 200:151–154

    Google Scholar 

  • Tinti S, Pelinovsky E (eds) Special Issue (2001) Tsunamis. Nat Hazard Earth Syst Sci 1:171–262

  • Tsunami Field Symposium (2008) Topic 2: Tsunami sediments and landforms, in 2nd International Tsunami Field Symposium, Ostuni-Puglia (Italy) and Lefkada (Ionian Islands, Greece), 21–28 Septemebr 2008: http://www.geography.dur.ac.uk/Projects/Portals/19/Italy%20-%20Greece/General%20Programme%20and%20Scientific%20Sessions%20Last.pdf. Accessed 9 January 2011

  • Tsunami Society (2008) Several papers. Int J “Science of Tsunami Hazards” 27: No. 1–4: http://tsunamisociety.org/OnlineJournals08.html. Accessed 9 January 2011

  • Tuttle MP, Ruffman A, Anderson T, Jeter H (2004) Eastern North Amen’ca: The 1929 Grand Banks Tsunami versus the 1991 Halloween Storm. Seism Res Lett 75:117–131

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van den Bergh GD, Boer W, de Haas H, Weering TjCE, van Wijhe R (2003) Shallow marine tsunami deposits in Teluk Banten (NW Java, Indonesia), generated by the 1883 Krakatau eruption. Mar Geol 197:13–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van der Lingen GJ (1969) The turbidite problem. N Z J Geol Geophys 12:7–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vött A, Brückner H, Brockmüller S et al (2009) Traces of Holocene tsunamis across the Sound of Lefkada, NW Greece. Glob Planet Change 66:112–128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whelan F, Keating B (2004) Tsunami deposits on the Island of Oahu, Hawaii. Coast Rep 1:77–82

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams H (2000) Stratigraphic and Microfossil Evidence for Late Holocene Tsunamis at Swantown Marsh, Whidbey Island, Washington. Quat Res 54:218–227

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams HFL (2009) Stratigraphy, sedimentology, and microfossil content of Hurricane Rita storm surge deposits in southwest Louisiana. J Coast Res 25:1041–1051

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams DM, Hall M (2004) Cliff-top megaclast deposits of Ireland, a record of extreme waves in the North Atlantic—storms or tsunamis? Mar Geol 206:101–117

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yamazaki T, Yamaoka M, Shiki T (1989) Miocene offshore tractive current-worked conglomerates—Tsubutegaura, Chita Peninsula, central Japan. In: Taira A, Masuda F (eds) Sedimentary features in the active plate margin. Terra Scientific Publishing Company, Tokyo, pp 483–494

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

My interest on tsunamis-related deposition was triggered by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which hit the coast of Tamil Nadu in south-eastern India on 26 December. My hometown (Sirkali), which is located about 12 km inland from the tsunami-devastated coast, provided immediate shelter for tens of thousands of tsunami victims. I would like to thank N. Swedaranyam, T. Saraswathi (my sister), S. Thambidurai and S. Murugan for their assistance during my 2005 field study of coastal deposits of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami in Tamil Nadu. I thank Guest Editor Arun Kumar for inviting me to contribute this article. I wish to thank Journal Editor T. Murty for his suggestions on content during early stages of manuscript preparation in 2009. My sincere thanks to two anonymous reviewers for their detailed, critical and helpful comments on the manuscript. Jean Shanmugam (my wife) is thanked for her general comments. I am grateful to Cliff Frohlich, The University of Texas at Austin, for providing photographs of tsunami-emplaced boulders in Tongatapu Island, south-west Pacific.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Texas at Arlington, P.O. Box 19049, Arlington, TX, 76019-0049, USA

    G. Shanmugam

Authors
  1. G. Shanmugam
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to G. Shanmugam.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Shanmugam, G. Process-sedimentological challenges in distinguishing paleo-tsunami deposits. Nat Hazards 63, 5–30 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-011-9766-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-011-9766-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation